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A real holiday mood, a real holiday collection...
Photo: S. Subramanium.
Designers Manju and Bobby Grover with models displaying the new summer collection in New Delhi.
WITH THE blistering heat giving no respite to Delhiites, there is an increasing demand for dresses made from light yet good quality fabric. Bearing this in mind, the designer couple of Manju and Bobby Grover - whose alma mater is the National Institute of Fashion Technology --
has unveiled a new women's collection.
Breaking away from the same old materials like the heavy zardozi - which is used commonly - there is an impressive array of salwar kameez. Actually the salwar has been done away with and has been replaced by trousers. Fabrics like chiffon, net, georgette and silk have been used. The colours have been assimilated in such a manner that they are likely to bring cheer and a smile to someone in an awfully bad mood. The colours - pink, yellow and blue - have been used judiciously.
The theme is holiday. For ladies bored by back-breaking domestic chores or humdrum office work - going out on a vacation mean endless possibilities. It is a moment of leisure, solitude. It is that time of the year when they get their due share - a rare opportunity to sit back and rejoice. The inspiration, naturally, comes from the carefree, bohemian mood. After the Grovers give their artistic impression on paper - drafting the designs - the practical work is done in Lucknow by hand weavers, who specialise in the famous chikankari work.
The lesser-known dari work, in which the weaving is done from the reverse side, is best epitomised in a gold dari dress. After creating dresses for celebrities from the Hindi film industry like actresses Raveena Tandon and Suman Ranganathan and Ayesha Shroff, wife of actor Jackie Shroff, the duo hopes to tempt the teeming middle-class with their dresses.
Has the price of this collection plummeted, as less embroidered work has been done? Says Manju, "Yes. This is an affordable range. The heavy embroidered work doesn't jell when one designs casuals. The holiday collection includes daywear and eveningwear. There isn't much zari work. We have played with the colours." For full kurta - made with pure georgette silk - the price may be exorbitant at Rs.9,000 but for semi-formal kurtis it is Rs.3,000.
Bobby says, "We have worked for Ravissant. Our work is displayed at Ansal Plaza's BE, the Raymond's store. Also at Karol Bagh."
These dresses aren't meant for professionals, who run from one place to another but for those who plan to take a break from the torturous heat and grime of the metro and get away to some holiday destination.
MADHUR TANKHA
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